Speaking of that "generation" of the French... Have you ever read Albert Camus....especially "the RebeL"? I've tried to complete it ever since I was a teen-ager, just never get around to it.So I read a few chapters, then leave it for some years... then read some more... etc.... Camus' theory on "Rebellion" isn't necessarily the main point.... his ideas and notions regarding the philosophy of history, in commentary of Hegel primarily, is the real crux of the discussion. Plus, someone would need a deeper understanding of some other quoted "historical"sources to truly appreciate the treatise. As someone interested in history, Chaz, I think that you might like it. nominal9
On Nov 7, 1:04 pm, chazwin <[email protected]> wrote: > For me this event seems to represent the passing of something greater. > His generation of Frenchmen and those that followed him such as > Derrida, Foucault, and others. > In the post war period France was seized by an anti-authoritarian zeal > that is wonderfully expressed by Derrida's concept of the tyranny of > the text, and an extreme reaction to the sort of logical positivist > certainty that had justified the extreme ideologies of the early part > of the century that had enslaved the earth and occupied France. > This in turn informed the post-structualist and post-modern approaches > to social theory. > But what of now. Social theory is now emasculated by feminism, but > worst by toleration and consensus. > Any attempts at a radical approach has been muted by the tyranny of > inclusion. > That worst fear of the linguist turn and post-modernism was a hopeless > relativism has now been superseded by something much worse. Now we > have inclusiveness. History has accommodated Church History. THe > Enlightenment, once portrayed as anti-religion is now the a religious > phenomenon. > Forst we had the enlightenment - a group of French philosophers deists > and materialists. Then we had the Scottish E, then the Dutch E, then > we have the Christian E. Hume gets ejected from the Scottish E just as > Rousseau gets ejected from the French E. Then, once church history has > colonised the Enlightenment, why append the adjective Christian at > all? Now the 5 volumes of Blair's Sermons is now heralded as the > greatest achievement of the Enlightenment. So how did we get from an > atheist and deist materialist philosophy to a firebrand Calvinist > minister who rejects materialism, deism and the struggle for liberty > in the US and France - in 15 years? > It is political Correctness gone mad. Religion continues to colonise > the terminology of the past and present to justify its existence. > > On Nov 3, 6:51 pm, nominal9 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > >http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE5A24HT20091103 > > French anthropologist Levi-Strauss dies at 100 > > Tue Nov 3, 2009 1:22pm EST > > Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text [+] By Estelle > > Shirbon > > PARIS (Reuters) - French intellectual Claude Levi-Strauss, the > > founder > > of structural anthropology, has died at the age of 100, his > > publishing > > house Plon said on Tuesday. > > > Levi-Strauss, who was known to a wider public thanks to his 1955 > > memoir and masterpiece, "Tristes Tropiques," died on Saturday. He > > would have turned 101 on November 28. > > > "He was France's greatest scientist," said writer Jean d'Ormesson, > > fellow member of the Academie Francaise which brings together the > > elite of the country's intellectual establishment. > > > A brilliant student who excelled at geology, law and philosophy, > > Levi- > > Strauss was posted to Brazil as a professor in 1935. It was there > > that > > he found his vocation for anthropology. > > > He conducted several expeditions into remote areas of the Amazon > > rainforest and the Mato Grosso to study the customs of local tribes, > > starting to develop theories and methods that would later have a > > profound impact on his field. > > > He returned to France and was drafted into the French army at the > > start of World War Two. After the defeat of France by the Nazis, he > > realized that being Jewish had now become dangerous and he moved to > > the United States until 1944. > > > Over the following years, he held a number of prestigious scientific > > posts in Paris and New York and started to churn out his influential > > scientific volumes. > > > "I HATE VOYAGES" > > > In particular, he used tribal customs and myths to show that human > > behavior is based on logical systems which may vary from society to > > society, but possess a common sub-structure. > > > These findings, which challenged the notion that Western European > > culture was somehow unique or superior, resonated with the ideas of > > opponents of colonialism and Levi-Strauss gained a following beyond > > the circle of professional anthropologists. > > > He argued that linguistics, communications and mathematical logic > > could be used to reveal fundamental social systems. > > > Exceptionally erudite, Levi-Strauss was not the most accessible of > > thinkers and many of his works are impenetrable to laymen, but he > > managed to transcend the esoteric bounds of science with "Tristes > > Tropiques." > > > A detailed account of social behavior among Brazilian tribes, > > "Tristes > > Tropiques" was set apart from the author's other writings by its > > autobiographical content. > > > While the work's opening sentence -- "I hate voyages and explorers" > > -- > > was hardly designed to win the approval of his scientific peers, > > lovers of literature considered it a triumph. > > > The academy that awards France's most prestigious literary prize, the > > Goncourt, announced the night before making public their choice that > > year that they regretted being unable to choose "Tristes Tropiques" > > because it was not a novel. > > > He achieved France's highest recognition for a scientist in 1973, > > when > > he was elected to the Academie Francaise. He also received numerous > > honors from foreign universities and governments, including Brazil.- Hide > > quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Epistemology" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/epistemology?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
